Government, Political Parties

Alash, civil peace, SPK, CPK, major parties

Kazakhstan’s preeminent party is the Party of the People’s Unity of Kazakhstan (formerly the People’s Unity Party), which promotes centrist policies and opposes radical nationalism. Other major parties in Kazakhstan include the Republican Party-Azat, founded in 1992 by the merger of three nationalist opposition parties; Yedinstvo (Unity), a Russian nationalist group; the Socialist Party of Kazakhstan (SPK), founded in 1991; the Kazakhstan Peasants’ Union, an agrarian party; and the People’s Congress Party of Kazakhstan, a party that advocates civil peace. The Communist Party of Kazakhstan (CPK) was banned in 1991 but then granted legal status in March 1994; it is not a very important political force in Kazakhstan today. Smaller parties in Kazakhstan include Alash, a movement promoting radical Kazakh nationalism, and the Slavic Movement-Lad, an organization that represents Slavic communities.